


Deceitful Love

by Haleyb333



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-05 19:47:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6719869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haleyb333/pseuds/Haleyb333
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ragnor has been dead for a few years now, and Magnus gets caught by a distraught vampire on Ragnor's birthday. What he never expected was to get caught up in a web of lies and surprises after a terrible day of grief and reminiscing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was supposed to be date night for Magnus and Alec, or rather, a night when Alec didn't have to be out all night hunting demons. It was supposed to be date night, but Magnus seemed terribly distracted. Sure, he'd smiled and laughed and tried to make things seem normal, but Alec knew him well enough by now to know that things were anything but normal. His smiles hadn't been as wide as normal, his laughs hadn't been as loud, and the spark in his eyes just wasn't there.

Alec reached across their table at dinner to grab Magnus's hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze, attempting to comfort Magnus even when he didn't know what he was comforting him for. "Magnus, darling, if you're feeling badly, we can go."

Magnus looked up at him, seemingly a bit surprised that Alec had picked up on the fact that he was overly distracted. He still seemed to be getting used to the fact that Alec knew him better than anyone ever had. He slowly shook his head while answering, "No, Alexander. I'm fine, just a bit distracted at the moment."

Instead of listening to what he was saying, Alec signaled their waiter for their check anyways. Despite Magnus's continual protestation, Alec herded him out of the restaurant and back toward the apartment. He could tell from the way Magnus was carrying himself that there wouldn't be a typical "date night" when they reached home.

Knowing this, Alec stayed silent throughout their walk home, simply keeping hold of Magnus's hand and refusing to let go. Once they entered the apartment, he sat Magnus down on the couch, then proceeded to go into the kitchen and quickly make coffee. He then carried both the coffee and a blanket to Magnus, wrapping the blanket around both of them so that they could curl up together.

Magnus seemed to relax immediately once he was wrapped up with Alec, seemed to immediately feel comfortable once again. When Alec asked him what was wrong, however, he simply laid his head on Alec's shoulder and took a deep breath.

"It's nothing, Alexander," he said after much too long a pause. His voice had cracked when he said Alec's name, and he knew that it was much too late to actually successfully hide anything from Alec. He knew that he would have never been able to hide something this painful from his husband.

Alec simply sat quiet, knowing that if he said nothing, Magnus would continue on his own. He took a deep breath before beginning, trying, and failing, to keep his voice even. The cracking of his voice caused Alec to wrap his arms around even tighter. "It's his birthday, Alexander." His voice had come out barely above a whisper.

When Alec answered, he kept his voice soft. "Whose birthday is it, Magnus?" At that, Magnus turned into Alec and buried his face in Alec's chest. He tried to speak, but nothing would come out, he tried to keep from letting tears fall, but that was in vain.

Throughout the next few minutes, Alec stayed silent and simply held Magnus. He leaned down several times to kiss Magnus on the top of the head, a gesture so kind and gentle, so characteristic of his sweet Alec, that it brought more tears to Magnus's eyes. Finally, he was able to speak enough to say, "Ragnor's."

At that, the tears began to fall in earnest, and Magnus realized that he had been keeping his emotions bottle up since they had lost Ragnor. Alec seemed to sense this too, and he remained silent still yet, keeping a firm hold on Magnus.

Before long, Magnus began speaking again. "He might as well have been my brother. He'd been by my side for as long as I can remember." He took a break to allow Alec to wipe away some of the tears that were still streaming down his face. "When I ran to the Silent Brothers for asylum, the called for him because they had no idea what to do with me. When he got there, they continued to argue over what to do with me, and you know what he did, Alexander? He talked to me. Like I was a human being, not a burden to be gotten rid of. For the first time in my short life, someone actually treated me like a person."

Alec hugged Magnus tighter, and Magnus knew that Alec was comforting both him and himself. Magnus couldn't help but chuckle as he continued talking about his first meeting with Ragnor. "After he talked to me, he stood up right then and there and interrupted the Silent Brothers in the middle of their argument. All he said was, 'I am taking this child with me', then he reached for my hand and marched me out of the Silent City. To this day I have never heard anyone talk to the Brothers like that."

Magnus finally went speechless at what Alec said next. "He sounded amazing, Magnus. I wish I had met him." Smiling softly, Magnus simply nodded. He reached up to wipe his own tears away this time, fighting another bout of crying.

He finally got through the lump in this throat and responded, "Me too, Alec. You would have loved him, and he definitely would have loved you." He smiled in earnest as he continued. "He was actually mostly annoyed by you." Magnus raised his hand as Alec started to protest. "No, no, annoyed in an amusing way. Meaning that I wouldn't stop talking about you to him."

At that, it was Alec's turn to smile in earnest. Before he could respond, however, there was a sharp knock at the door. Alec looked to Magnus for approval before unwrapping himself from Magnus and going to answer the door.

When he opened the door, Alec stepped back quickly in surprise at who was standing before them. Before he could say a word, Raphael Santiago waltzed into their apartment and plopped himself down on one of their chairs.

Alec whirled around and looked at Magnus, who didn't seem at all surprised that there was now a vampire in their living room. "What can I do for you, Raphael?" was all he asked.

"What do you think, Magnus?" was all that Raphael said, and Alec could tell that Magnus was irritated by the question. It was a tense day for Magnus as it was, and he was running short on patience, something that was needed in excess when dealing with Raphael.

When Magnus simply stayed silent, rather than arguing with Raphael, Raphael continued explaining. "I thought you might want some understanding company on Ragnor's birthday."

Alec thought that was a reasonable explanation, but what Magnus said next surprised him yet again. "No you didn't. I know better than that, Raphael."

Raphael opened his mouth, shut it, then opened it again. "What do you mean exactly? I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't," Magnus answered, voice cold and hard. "You know exactly what I am talking about, Santiago, don't-" Alec jumped slightly as Raphael cut Magnus off.

"Do not call me that. That is what Ragnor called me, you know that." At that, Magnus smiled and inclined his head.

"Just admit it, Raphael. That will make this conversation much easier on the both of us." Alec was tired of looking back and forth between the two, but he had the feeling that this was the climax of the conversation, so he stayed silent and just switched his gaze back to Raphael.

"Fine, Magnus, I'll admit it. I was in love with Ragnor, and I am here because I didn't know who else to turn to. Is that what you wanted to hear? Is that what you wanted me to admit? Did you want me to admit the fact that my heart is breaking more and more with each and every day that I have to live without him?"


	2. Chapter 2

Magnus wasn't really surprised at the turn the conversation had taken, he was simply surprised that Raphael had made himself vulnerable enough to admit it. He had always known that Raphael had been in love with Ragnor. Unfortunately, he also knew that Ragnor had been in love with Raphael.

Suddenly thrown into an involuntary memory, Magnus could clearly remember the conversation he and Ragnor had had over the matter just before Ragnor had died. Magnus had asked him to come over so that they could catch up, and things had quickly turned into Magnus talking about Alec until he had finally thought to ask about Ragnor's love life.

"Love? Me? In the same sentence? That's absurd, Magnus, and you know it!" Ragnor had tried to humor his way out of the question, but Magnus knew him well enough to see that he was hiding something.

"I can read you like a book, Ragnor. You're in love with someone and you don't want me to know who." He paused momentarily, then he decided to try to make a joke out of it, but his joke ended up being in terrible taste. "As long as it's not Raphael, then you've got my support."

When Ragnor didn't respond in any way, it finally hit Magnus that it was, indeed, Raphael who Ragnor was in love with. All the pieces of the past century seemed to fall into place all at once, and Magnus immediately began trying to backtrack. "Oh, Ragnor, no. I didn't mean it that way, you must know that. I'm so sorry; Raphael is like my little brother. I-"

At that, Ragnor interjected with a laugh. "No, Magnus. I know you don't actually hate him. I've always known that; you wouldn't have saved his life otherwise."

Magnus's next question was obviously, "Well, have you made Raphael aware of this?" at which Ragnor had looked appalled. "What? Of course not! There's no way I could ever do that!" At that, Magnus had sighed and placed his head in his hands.

"Well why the hell would you not, Ragnor? Are you scared of something or what?"

Ragnor began nodding when Magnus finished, causing Magnus to groan under his breath. "What on Earth are you scared of?"

When Ragnor had left his answer at, "Rejection," and would not hear of anything such as talking to Raphael, Magnus let the conversation fall dead. He had also been lured into swearing silence on the matter. For anyone else, Magnus would have never sworn such a thing, but for Ragnor, he would do anything to simply make him happy.

That was when Magnus realized he had yet to say anything in response to Raphael. Now that he could see the same look in Raphael's eyes that he had seen in Ragnor's, Magnus knew what he had to do.

"Why did you never tell him, Raphael?" Magnus tried to keep his voice as steady as possible, and he only hoped that Raphael would not pick up on anything for the time being.

"Are you stupid, Magnus? As though someone as kind and gentle as Ragnor could love a monster like me. I never told him because he would have been disgusted, because it would have caused me to lose him."

Magnus began shaking his head. He knew that he was going to betray his best friend, but seeing as his best friend had been dead for years, he thought that Ragnor would most likely appreciate it if he gave some sort of comfort to the man he had loved.

"You're mistaken, Raphael. He was never disgusted by you, not once." Magnus became slightly annoyed when Raphael interrupted him.

You don't know that. You can't possibly know that."

Sighing, Magnus continued, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. "No, I do know, actually. I know because he told me. He told me about his love for you. He was never repulsed by you, ever."

"This is a very cruel joke, Magnus." At that, Magnus held up his hand. "No, do not, Raphael. Do not try to put yourself down. Do not try to make yourself seem unlovable. Ragnor loved you more than you will ever understand. Don't try to deny that. If you do, then you will be disrespecting not just yourself but Ragnor as well."  
.  
.  
.  
After continuing to try to convince Raphael of Ragnor's love for him for what seemed like hours, Magnus was greatly comforted when he finally was able to curl back up on the couch with Alec.

He was currently in Alec's arms again, with Alec playing with his hair, and he was finally able to fully relax again. Then, there was another knock at the door, and Alec got up before Magnus could and answered it, but what he found on the other side was not a person, but rather, it was a letter placed on the floor.

Bending over to retrieve the letter, Alec slowly returned to the couch. "I think this is for you," was all he said as he handed it over to Magnus.

Magnus's name was written on the outside, and he opened it carefully. He was rather surprised, however, when he saw what was inside. All that was written on the paper inside was, "Meet me in the abandoned subway Camille used to use tomorrow at 8p.m. Do not be late."

Staring at the words, Magnus knew he should understand them immediately, but he couldn't get over the fact that he knew the handwriting on the letter. "Magnus?" It was Alec's voice that slowly pulled him out of his daze. "Are you okay?"

All Magnus could do was shake his head in answer. He was not okay because now the joke was on him. He was staring at handwriting he knew all too well. The letter in his hand was clearly written by Ragnor.


	3. Chapter 3

Magnus could tell that Alec didn't quite believe him when he said that the letter was from Ragnor. He could also tell that Alec was trying to be supportive, so he was hesitant to either agree or disagree. He was slightly appreciative for this, but he was worried that Alec would be right. It was not outside the realm of possibilities that he was sure this was Ragnor's handwriting because he simply missed Ragnor so much.

All day, Magnus was unable to focus on anything, and Alec was taking it very graciously. Alec was constantly asking him if he needed anything and was simply focused on making him comfortable. At about 7:00, Alec sat down with Magnus and asked the question Magnus had been trying to answer all day. "Magnus, darling, do you want me to go with you tonight?"

It seemed to take Magnus forever to answer the question, but he didn't know how he truly felt about it. On the one hand, if the letter had somehow been from Ragnor, he would most likely need Alec for support, but he also wouldn't want Alec to have to deal with that situation if it arose. On the other hand, if it were a trick Alec could back him up. A trick like this, however, would most likely come from his father, and no one could help him get out of that, not even Alec.

Groaning, Magnus dropped his head into his hands, but he smiled slightly when Alec placed a hand on his back. At Alec's touch, Magnus immediately knew that he wanted Alec by his side no matter what happened to him. Not for the first time, it suddenly hit Magnus that Alec was the love of his life and he would always be, no matter how long Magnus's life went on. He suddenly reached over to kiss Alec, and he broke away soon when Alec began smiling and laughing.

"I take that as a yes then?" Alec said through his smile. Seeing Alec smiling so genuinely, Magnus knew that whatever happened that night, everything would be fine as long as he had Alec by his side.

He leaned into Alec's arms. "Yes, Alexander. I'm selfish; I always want you by my side."

Magnus's heart skipped a beat, something he still thought was amazing for Alec to be able to do to him, when Alec responded with, "Well is it selfish for me to always want to be by your side?"

Sighing, Magnus replied, "No, darling, it definitely isn't. But," he added as Alec began to kiss his neck. "Unfortunately we have to go or we'll be late."  
.  
.  
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Magnus could feel his heart rate picking up as the time neared 8:00. He was standing in the abandoned subway station, Alec's hand was in his, but he knew his grip was slowly tightening on Alec's hand. He had no idea what he wanted to happen, he had no idea how he was going to react to any situation that could possibly arise within the next few minutes.

For years, he had missed Ragnor more than anything else in the world. He had gotten married without Ragnor there to witness it. He had picked up the phone to call Ragnor without realizing he was gone far too many times, each and every one resulting in Magnus crying in Alec's arms. But the thought that Ragnor had been alive for all these years was enough to make Magnus terribly angry.

He knew he should be relived if Ragnor were really alive, but for some reason he couldn't seem to bring himself to be happy over the thought.

That was when he heard footsteps behind him. He didn't turn until he heard a far too familiar voice simply say, "Magnus." The breath was sucked out of Magnus as he turned to face the thought that had made him angry all day long. He turned to face Ragnor, standing before him as though nothing has ever happened.

Magnus was vaguely aware of the fact that Alec was wrapping an arm around him. He was vaguely aware of the fact that Ragnor was most likely expecting a hug or some other emotional reconnection, but all he could feel was a cold numbness washing over him. He was suddenly aware of the fact that he was shaking his head, that his mouth was open but no words were coming out.

He was only angered more when Ragnor began talking again. "Magnus, I'm sorry. I know this can't be easy. I know that you're angry with me, and don't even try to hide it. I can explain everything if you'll just give me the chance to do so. Please." Magnus wanted to tell Ragnor that everything was fine, he wanted to run to Ragnor the way he had used to, but his feet wouldn't move, no words would come out of his mouth.

"Magnus? Please let me explain. It's the one thing I've ever asked of you." At that, Magnus seemed to find his voice, and he tried to restrain himself form immediately yelling at Ragnor.

"You're right. Go ahead. What was I thinking? Being angry at you for faking your death and lying to me for years is simply ridiculous. You must have a very logical explanation, so go ahead and let me know exactly what it is." Magnus could tell his voice was terribly cold. He couldn't remember a time when he had ever spoken to Ragnor in such a way, and it hurt him slightly to do so, but he couldn't seem to control his emotions at the moment.

Ragnor took a deep breath and dropped his eyes to the floor. "I had to do it, Magnus. I've never had such a hard time making any decision, but I had to leave and I need you to understand that. You don't have to accept it, you don't have to forgive me. I just need you to listen."

Magnus was only able to nod his head and lean further into Alec. Without Ragnor, his life had felt empty, but now that he knew part of the truth, he couldn't pinpoint exactly how he felt during this situation. All he knew was that he hadn't felt like this in a very long time.

"I had to do this, Magnus, because the people I love were in danger, and I couldn't let anything happen to them. You, Catarina, Tessa, Raphael. You were all in danger and I was the one who had to do something about it." He paused, and Magnus could tell that he was trying to figure out how to best explain things.

"You see, Asmodeus came to me, Magnus. He told me that he was going to start killing you all one by one unless I joined with him. You and I both know that he's always wanted my powers and yours as well. Who knows what he could have done with my powers, so I couldn't let that happen. Magnus, I had Catarina help me disappear, and no please do not be angry with her."

It was then that Magnus understood exactly what he was feeling. He was feeling betrayed, and that was something he had never felt with Ragnor. He was feeling broken hearted, and the more Ragnor talked, the more Magnus felt as though he couldn't take it any longer.

He surprised even himself, however, when he finally spoke up. "Ragnor, why didn't you come to me, then?" His voice was far too soft, but Ragnor heard him loud and clear in the silence of the subway.

"I couldn't come to you, Magnus because I knew you would miss me too much. I haven't talked to Catarina since we faked my death. I haven't had any more contact with her than I have had with you. Magnus, I didn't want to hurt you any more than I had to, but I had to hurt you and I'm sorry for that."

"Then why," Magnus knew he was talking, but he didn't feel as though he were fully aware of what was going on. "Why, Ragnor are you back now?"

Ragnor gave a soft smile. "I'm back because Asmodeus is trapped in Edom and he's no longer a threat to you or anyone else. Magnus, I came to see you first because I wanted to at least attempt to show you how much I love you. You meant the world to me, Magnus, and I'll understand if you hate me for this."

Instead of responding to what Ragnor had just said, Magnus avoided it and made a statement of his own. "You came back for Raphael, too." At that, Ragnor genuinely smiled, and Magnus wanted to smile as well, but he was so hurt that all he could think of was yelling at Ragnor.

"Yes, Magnus. I came back for Raphael as well. I know you're hurt, and I've never been so sorry for anything in my entire life. I never would have hurt you if there had been anything I could have done differently, but please Magnus, please just give me a second chance. You're my brother whether anyone else thinks so or not, and I love you more than anything."

At that, Magnus finally broke down and he could feel tears streaming down his face. He could feel Alec give him another gentle squeeze. He had momentarily forgotten that Alec was beside him, and he slightly relaxed when he could feel Alec's presence once again.

Ragnor stepped forward toward them, and Magnus surprisingly didn't step backward. "I'm not going to promise you anything at all, Ragnor. But you're right, you're my brother no matter what biology might tell us. So what I can tell you is that we can work through this because no matter what happens I love you."

Magnus had been under the impression that things were going to be just fine as soon as he had finished what he wanted to say to Ragnor. But then they heard another voice behind them.

"That's lovely, really, but you're forgetting one little detail, Ragnor. And don't you think that it's a rather important detail that Magnus would appreciate knowing." Magnus thought he was going to hit the floor when he realized who was speaking behind him. "Go ahead," the voice continued. "Tell him who else faked their own death."

To everyone's surprise, it was Alec who spoke up, but only one word came out of his mouth when he did so. "Camille."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts about this story! I'd love to hear from you on it!


	4. Chapter 4

Magnus was finally fully aware of Alec's presence beside him, and he could definitely tell that Alec was more tense than he had been in a long time. Magnus took hold of Alec's hand, feeling as though if he didn't take hold of Alec in some form he would hit the floor any second. Alec, however, was looking back and forth between Magnus and Camille, and he was apparently at a loss for words as well.

No one seemed to want to break the silence, but Ragnor was the first to be brave enough to do so. "Magnus, Alec, I was going to tell you that, too. She just wasn't patient enough."

Magnus spread out his hands, an indication that Ragnor should continue talking. "She went to Catarina the same night I did; she wanted asylum, too. She told us that if Catarina didn't help her as well, that she would get a message to Asmodeus about what I had done, and then she would tell him to start by killing Alec. I couldn't let that happen, and you know Catarina couldn't either, so here she is."

To Magnus's surprise, Alec stepped forward and began speaking, his voice so cold and hard that Magnus was almost scared of him as well. "And you didn't think to just come to Magnus? After what she did to us, after everything she put us through, you thought it would be better to just lie to Magnus about her death as well?"

Alec turned back to Magnus then, and Magnus could see the pain and terror mixed in his eyes. "I was wrong, Magnus. I now wish I had never met him at all." At that, Alec began to walk off, and Magnus grabbed for his hand before he could do so.

Pulling his husband close, he looked Alec in the eye and began practically pleading to him. "Alexander, please stay. I know that you're hurt and scared, I am too. But I need you right now more than I've ever needed you."

Biting his lip, Magnus waited for Alec to yank free and continue to storm his way out of the room. But, as always, Alec surprised him, and Magnus could feel Alec's hand loosen in his grip. He knew that Alec wanted to leave more than anything in the world, but he could see it in his husband's eyes that his love for Magnus was keeping him glued to where he stood.

Turning back to the situation at hand, Magnus faced Camille this time. He had been so guiltily relieved when he had thought that he would never have to face her again, but now that his worst nightmare was coming true, he could hardly catch his breath. "Why on Earth did you need protection that badly?" was all he could find the courage to say to her.

"You're not that dense, Magnus, darling. I ne-" Magnus reveled in the look of surprise that clothed her face as Alec cut her off.

"No. Absolutely not. Hell no. He is not your 'darling' anymore. You never loved him, so do not come in here and pretend like you do. The only person whose 'darling' he is, is mine." Magnus had to physically restrain himself from laughing out loud at what Alec had just said. He doubted anyone had ever talked to Camille that way, not anyone who had survived for any length of time that was.

While Camille seemed to take the time to gather herself, Magnus smiled to himself at the thought that Alec would have never said anything of the likes just years ago. But now, Alec was finally so confident and proud of who he was and who he loved that he was not afraid to tell people exactly that.

"Oh excuse me," Camille finally responded, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I didn't realize he needed a shirt that says, 'Magnus Bane: property of Alec Lightwood.'"

Alec threw a smile back at her, a cold dark smile full of malice. "He doesn't. He needs a shirt that says, "Magnus Lightwood: property of Alec Lightwood.'"

At that, Magnus did chuckle ever so slightly, and Camille shot him daggers. She seemed to think better of continuing to argue with Alec and decided to change the topic back to the matter at hand. "As I was saying, I needed protection because everyone wanted me dead at the time. The Shadowhunters wanted me dead for crimes against their Law, the vampires wanted me dead for bringing the wrath of the Shadowhunters down on them, and so on. I couldn't risk it any longer, and seeing that Ragnor wanted the same thing, I took the opportunity while I could."

Everyone jumped when Alec snorted. "You mean you took the opportunity to make Magnus's life a living hell? You took the opportunity to manipulate and terrify people into doing what would benefit you the most. I've never seen Downworlders as monsters, not until I met you."

Magnus could tell that Alec was about to become far too worked up, so he wrapped and arm around Alec's shoulder. Then he announced, "We are leaving. Ragnor, you are welcome to come with us so that we can talk through this some more, but if not, I will see you soon."

Before Ragnor could respond, he turned Alec around and marched him out of the door.  
.  
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When they got home, Magnus sat Alec down on the couch and proceeded to find a blanket for the two of them. He then wrapped Alec up with him and proceeded to hold his husband as tightly as he could. He could tell that Alec was holding back tears, so he simply silently played with Alec's hair as he always did when either of them were upset.

After a very long time of the two of them sitting in silence, Alec finally looked up at Magnus with tears in his eyes. "Magnus?" He tried to begin speaking, his voice so soft that he could barely be heard. Magnus reached up to wipe away a tear that had begun falling down his face. "What is it, darling?" was all he was able to ask for fear of breaking down himself.

"Promise me something, please?" His voice was so full of sorrow and terror that it caused Magnus pain to hear it. When Magnus simply nodded, Alec began again. "Promise me that no matter what happens, no matter what Camille tries to do, please promise me that we won't let her break us apart again. Promise me, Magnus, please. Please." The pain in his voice was so clear that Magnus could hardly bear it.

"Alexander, my love, I swear to you that I will never let her hurt us again." He reached up once more and ran his thumb across Alec's cheek. "I promise you with everything that I have, everything that I am that she is not going to separate us." He paused a moment, thinking about something, then amended what he had just said. "No, Alexander, I don't promise that. What I promise you is that I will not let anyone or anything separate us ever again. No matter what happens. It's just like you said, I am a Lightwood, and no one is ever going to take that away from me. Especially not Camille."

When he was done with his speech, Magnus couldn't stand it anymore, and he finally leaned down to kiss Alec. The kiss was long and slow, and it was so full of love and passion that it took Magnus's breath away. That was the thing about his love for Alec, it always caught him by surprise, it always left him speechless, and, no matter what, it always left him wanting more.


	5. Chapter 5

The next night, Magnus called Raphael telling him that he needed to come over, that they needed to talk about something important. He could sense Raphael's reluctance, but somehow he finally convinced Raphael to be there within the hour.

At the moment, Ragnor was sitting in the living room, and he was fidgeting more than Magnus had ever seen him do so before. When Magnus had tried to talk to him, Ragnor had simply grunted in response, so Magnus had decided to leave him alone and let him wallow in his angst. Alec was out of the apartment on patrol, so Magnus had decided to grab a book and sit beside Ragnor to wait.

Ragnor jumped when there was a knock on the door, and Magnus gently placed a hand on his shoulder before getting up to answer the door. As he opened it, he began speaking, hoping to lessen the shock if possible. "Now Raphael, there's someone here who really wants to see you and I know it's going to be a shock, but just hear him out please."

Magnus finished speaking and stepped aside to let Raphael inside. Raphael began to step forward, but he stopped in his tracks at the sight of Ragnor. Magnus was unable to tell if his expression was a good sign or a bad one. Finally, Magnus decided that he definitely looked as though he was falling in love for the first time.

"Raphael," Ragnor was the first to break the silence, and Magnus only hoped that Raphael could hear the love dripping from Ragnor's voice as clearly as he could hear it himself. "Raphael, I'm so sorry. Please, don't be angry with him."

Finally, Raphael seemed to find his voice. "Angry with you? I would love to be able to say that I am, Ragnor. But unfortunately I am so in love with you that I cannot seem to find it within me to be angry with you for being alive."

Magnus smiled and took his seat on the couch once more, it was high time Raphael and Ragnor finally admitted their love for one another. Ragnor opened his mouth, then immediately closed it, and Magnus could tell that he was trying to work through this turn of events. He had never expected that the man he had loved for years would possibly love him back, and it was obvious that he was trying to work out how he had missed the little fact that Raphael did, indeed, love him back.

As Ragnor began to stand up, Raphael started forward and stopped right in front of him. "Don't say anything just yet," he said, reaching for Ragnor's hand. "For years, I thought that I was unlovable. I thought that you were too kind, too gentle to love someone like me. And then Magnus told me just how wrong I was. Then all I could think of was how awful I felt for never saying something. I had let the best man I had ever met slip through my fingers because I was too much of a coward to just tell him how much I cared. And now here you are, and it looks as though I've been given a second chance."

At this point, Ragnor was smiling so widely that Magnus couldn't help but smile himself. "I am not going to waste a second this time, Ragnor. I am not going to let you go without telling you how much I love you. I am not going to let you slip away from me again. The reason you're here and not dead doesn't even matter to me at the moment. All that matters to me is the fact that Heaven has decided to smile down on me and give me another chance at love."

When he finished speaking, Magnus waited for Ragnor to begin his own speech, but that was far from what happened. For several long moments, Ragnor simply stared into Raphael's eyes. He seemed unable to speak, unable to move, and then suddenly he was kissing Raphael. At first, Raphael was so shocked that he didn't move, then he finally softened into Ragnor's kiss.

Magnus smiled in triumph. As they broke apart, he couldn't stand to do anything other than make a snotty comment. "Do I need to say 'I told you so,' or do you two idiots already realize that?" He chuckled as they both turned to look at him, still holding hands.

Ragnor was the first to speak, and Magnus could hear the happiness in his voice. "You did try to tell me, Magnus. And I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you sooner. I should have swallowed my fear and done something about my love. But then again, this would not have felt nearly as good if I had."  
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Lily was having a hard time wrapping her head around what was going on. She had been on the phone with Maia, trying to solve yet another Downworlder problem, when some of her clan had started screaming.

She had rushed out of her office to find Camille standing with the clan surrounding her, and all Camille had said to her was, "I am the leader again." Lily had thought about dashing for the phone, she had thought about calling the Lightwoods, but Camille seemed to sense this. "If you try anything at all, I will kill you at once. Plus, the Lightwoods already know I'm here."

Thinking better of trying anything, Lily had let Camille "take over" with the thought that she could more easily plan her way out of it later.

They were currently sitting in the office, and Camille had made several phone calls. Now, she was jotting notes down in what appeared to be a journal, and Lily was no less confused than she had been when Camille first walked in. "Will you at least answer one question for me?" Camille didn't look up from her notes as she nodded to Lily.

"Why did you decide to come back to New York of all places?"

At that, Camille looked up at Lily, giving her a smile that caused Lily to shiver, even though she hadn't been able to feel cold in years. "I am here, dear Lily, to get rid of Magnus Bane once and for all."

Lily thought better of telling Camille that he was Magnus Lightwood now. All she knew was that she had to warn Magnus somehow.


	6. Chapter 6

Alec finally got home somewhere around four in the morning, and he was unsure that he had ever been as tired as he currently was. He had expected to come home to Magnus curled up on the couch. Magnus often tried to wait up for Alec and ended up falling asleep on the couch when he was too tired to stay awake anymore.

This time, however, Alec opened the door to see Magnus on the couch, but he was sitting up and was definitely still awake. Magnus looked up and smiled as Alec walked in. Alec couldn't help but smile in return. His heartbeat always picked up when Magnus smiled at him in such a way, and he didn't think he would ever get so used to being this in love. Sometimes, he looked at Magnus and became utterly terrified of how in love he was.

When he and Magnus had first begun dating, Alec had been fairly certain that it was not a relationship that would last. He had often thought that Magnus was just passing the time with him, that this was just going to be a beginning for himself, a way to get experience and that Magnus would eventually get bored with him and move on. The longer they stayed together, the more Alec became sure that he had been terribly wrong. Many people had passingly said that they were sure Magnus was still using Alec to pass the time.

That thought had always lingered in the back of his mind, until Magnus had proposed to him. It was in that moment, as he looked down at Magnus who was smiling up at him as he propped himself up on one knee, that it finally hit Alec that Magnus was as in love with him as he was with Magnus. He was finally able to push that thought out of his head entirely, and he was finally confident enough to disagree with anyone who might still say that Alec was just a way to pass the days.

Alec threw himself on the couch and into Magnus's arms, relaxing immediately. Magnus responded without stopping to think, wrapping his arms around Alec and bending down to kiss the top of Alec's head. Smiling, Alec asked him, "Why are you still up?"

"I just recently got rid of Raphael and Ragnor, so I thought I would wait up for you." His voice was soft and light in a way that Alec hadn't heard in a while. "Plus, I don't think I can really sleep right now."

Alec turned in Magnus's arms to look up at him. "Why's that?" he asked, still unable to keep the smile out of his voice.

"Well, I wanted to tell you happy anniversary as soon as possible," Magnus responded. As he finished speaking, he leaned into Alec, placing his lips gently on Alec's. Alec smiled into Magnus's kiss. He had slightly forgotten that it was their anniversary already. He often lost track of days and nights when he was on patrol.

Their kiss lasted much longer than Alec had initially expected, but as Magnus pulled away, Alec found himself feeling as though it hadn't lasted long enough. Magnus sighed, but Alec could tell that it was a sigh of contentment. He leaned forward, touching his forehead of Alec's. Unable to restrain himself, Alec reached up to place his hands on either side of Magnus's face, cupping his face gently and staring straight into Magnus's eyes. He broke out into a smile before his lips could find Magnus's again.

"What are we going to do to celebrate?" he asked instead of getting lost in kissing Magnus.

At that, it was Magnus's turn for a smile to light up his face. "That, Alexander, will be a wonderful surprise."

Magnus chuckled as Alec groaned and leaned in to place his forehead on Magnus's shoulder. "You know I hate surprises, Magnus."

"That," Magnus said through his smile. "That, is precisely why I have planned one."  
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Alec was utterly terrified of what Magnus could possibly have planned for their anniversary. He had woken up to find Magnus gone and a note in his place. The note had given him a set of instructions for getting ready for the night. Magnus had instructed him to wear his suit and to be ready by seven, and Alec was having trouble figuring out what could possibly require him to dress up.

The note had also said that Magnus would be out all day, so Alec had spent the day trying, and failing, to occupy himself without ripping his hair out from wanting to see Magnus. Just as he got up to begin to get ready, he heard a knock on the door. He was considering sneaking into the bedroom and leaving the door unanswered when he heard Isabelle on the other side, "Open up Alec! Magnus asked me to come help you get ready!"

Sighing, he turned to open the door. He should have known he would never get out of this without a makeover. He should have known that Magnus would never trust him and his terribly fashion sense to get dressed on his own.

Isabelle entered the apartment and immediately took him by the hand, leading him to the bedroom without another word. She flung open the closest as though she owned the place, and Alec sat down on the bed, knowing that this was going to take a while. "Izzy? You do know I have to be ready by seven, right?"

"Of course I do, Alec," she responded. To Alec's surprise, she turned away from the closet and came to sit beside him on the bed. "This is your first anniversary with Magnus, so I want this to be about you, Alec. So go pick out what you were going to wear, and I'll just be here as a sort of auto correct."

Smiling, Alec got up from the bed and retrieved his suit from the closet. The only thing he hadn't been sure of was what undershirt and tie he was going to wear. In the end, he decided to go with his green shirt. It was the exact color of Magnus's eyes, and Magnus had magicked it up for him at his request.

He turned to Isabelle expecting her to immediately have something to say about his choice in clothing, but she simply smiled and nodded. He headed to the bathroom to change, noticing as he did so that his hands were shaking slightly. There was absolutely no reason that he should have been nervous. It wasn't as though he had anything to prove to Magnus anymore, they were already married. But he realized that he wanted this night to be as perfect as possible.

As it neared seven, he allowed Isabelle to inspect him one last time before she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and left in a flurry. Mere minutes after Isabelle left, Magnus entered the apartment and took Alec's breath away. He was dressed more formally than Alec felt he had ever seen him. Alec often told him that he looked just as good, if not better, without such a flamboyant wardrobe, but Magnus had never really listened, until now.

He was dressed in a simple black suit. His undershirt and tie were the exact color of Alec's own eyes, and his shoes were surprisingly devoid of color as well. His hair was not spiked up, nor did it have glitter in it. He only wore one ring as opposed to his usual several per hand, and that right was his wedding band. He wasn't wearing any other jewelry, not a necklace, no earrings. Magnus's face was even devoid of makeup, something that Alec had never seen outside of the apartment.

Alec could tell he was visibly uncomfortable with so little on, could tell that Magnus most likely felt naked. But as Alec looked his husband up and down, he decided he had never seen Magnus look so striking. "Oh, Magnus," was all he was able to say.

Magnus looked down at his feet, suddenly embarrassed. "I- uh. If you don't like it, I can fix it before we leave." Alec could hear the apprehension in Magnus's voice, so he stepped forward and gave Magnus a quick kiss.

"No, Magnus. You look absolutely perfect. I've never seen anyone as stunning as you."  
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Camille was busy barking orders around, and Lily still hadn't figured out a way to warn either Alec or Magnus. They were getting into position, Camille placing herself in the perfect spot to trap Magnus, and Lily had no idea what she was going to do. She was running out of time, and Camille had just ordered her into position too.


	7. Chapter 7

Magnus was entirely certain that he had never been so happy in his long life. When he proposed to Alec, he had never imagined that he could fall more in love. But with every passing day, he fell deeper and deeper in love with Alec, and sometimes the thought scared him ever so slightly. He had to continually remind himself that he and Alec still had years to be together, that they weren't out of time yet.

As he watched Alec from across the table, he was filled with so much joy that it was almost stifling. Alec was smiling from ear to ear, and he was currently in the middle of telling Magnus a story of a conversation he and Jace had once had early on in their relationship. Jace had been slightly terribly oblivious to the fact that Magnus and Alec were together, and Alec had forgotten that simple fact and had accidentally casually said something about Magnus. The resulting conversation had been hilarious.

Magnus, however, was far too distracted by what he was waiting to ask Alec that he could barely pay attention to where their conversation was headed. Alec wrapped up what he was saying and said, "Magnus, darling, it looks like you want to say something. What is it?"

Chuckling ever so slightly, Magnus decided now was the time to dive right in to what he had been waiting for all day. "I do actually have something I've been wanting to say. I have a proposal, Alexander." When he said this, Alec cocked his head to the side, clearly intrigued. "I was thinking that it was high time we considered starting a family, and I was wondering if you felt the same."

At first, Alec clearly looked surprised. Slowly, a smile began to spread on his face. "Oh Magnus, of course I feel the same, you know that! But now, I have a proposal of my own."

It was Magnus's turn to be intrigued, but he simply waited for Alec to continue. "I think that we should go ahead and pay our bill and head home, if you know what I'm trying to say."

Magnus definitely knew what Alec was trying to say, and he thought it was the best idea he had heard in a while. He promptly paid their bill and they headed out the door hand in hand.  
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They were halfway home and Magnus was terribly anxious although he could not pinpoint exactly why. He was anxious to get Alec home, that was for sure, but there was a different kind of anxiety as well, a darker kind.

He kept this from Alec, however, not wanting to worry him. Just as he decided that everything was part of his imagination, he heard a cold voice behind him.

"Stop right where you are and do not move." Suddenly, Alec's hand was being wrenched out of his own, and he whirled around to see Camille taking a knife out of her pocket. She took over hold of Alec from the vampire who had yanked Alec away from him and calmly placed the knife to his throat.

Magnus began frantically looking around, but all he saw was vampires. His eyes landed on Lily, and she stared back at him with a gaze that showed just how sorry she was. Magnus knew that she would see no forgiveness in his eyes when she looked back, and he couldn't say that he was ashamed of that.

Turning to Camille, he began speaking, keeping his voice surprisingly calm. "You don't want him, Camille. I know you too well; it's me you really want. Just let him go and we can deal with this just you and me."

She laughed sharply in return. "Now why on Earth would I do that, Magnus? I have you right where I want you."

"No, Camille, you don't. You want me dead, I can see it in your eyes. You let Alexander go and I'll give you what you want." He shot a warning look at Alec before he continued speaking. "You let him go and I'll fight you. To the death. Me and you, skill against skill alone."

It took a moment for Camille to react, she was clearly considering her options, working out what kind of chance she had of winning. She apparently decided that the odds were greatly in her favor, as she slowly removed the knife from Alec's throat. He immediately ran to Magnus, but Magnus couldn't bring himself to look at him.

Before they could do anything else, Camille stepped forward. "Shall we get this over with, Magnus? I have a schedule to keep." The smile that appeared on her face sent chills down Magnus's spine. He had no idea what he was going to do. He knew he could never kill Camille, he didn't have it in him to kill someone he had once loved so deeply. And it was likely Camille knew that too.

Magnus turned very quickly to whisper "I love you" to Alec and give him one final kiss before he looked Camille straight in the eyes.

He didn't have time to do any further thinking before she lunged forward. If he hadn't had the training he had been given over the years, he would never have been able to step back in time to save himself. As it was, he barely did so quick enough. "Camille, let's talk about this for a moment." There was more pleading in his voice than he had hoped for, but he was too preoccupied to care about that at the moment.

She laughed again, and responded, "Why, Magnus? Afraid you'll lose?" As she did so, she lunged again, this time landing a blow on Magnus's left arm. He managed to make no indication that the blow had hurt him at all.

Keep the pain out of his voice, he began stepping away from her in an intricate pattern as he replied, "You don't want to do this, that's why. If you kill me, you'll be an even more wanted woman than you ever have been."

He knew he was running out of time, but he was running out of things to say as well. He could tell she didn't care just how wanted she would be. All she wanted was his death. Magnus could tell he wouldn't be able to keep up much longer, he was having to step too quickly to keep out of her reach.

She realized this just as he did, and her last words were, "Say goodbye to your little Shadowhunter, Bane," before she lunged again.

Magnus had prepared for death then, he had closed his eyes and pictured Alec's gorgeous face and had simply given up. But then he heard Alec's voice screaming, "His name is Magnus Lightwood!" and suddenly he felt Alec standing in front of him, seraph blade blazing in hand.

Just as quickly as Alec jumped in front of him, Alec was gone. It took a moment for Magnus to understand what had happened, and then he realized that Camille had thrown Alec out of the way. He heard a sickening thud along with the all too familiar cracking of bone. This had been enough to stop Camille in her tracks, but Magnus was racing to Alec's side before she had ever stopped.

He was hesitant to move Alec, as he had no idea what bones Alec had broken. Magnus's heart fell in his chest as he saw the blood slowly puddling around Alec's head. He immediately grabbed for his phone, calling Catarina, even though he was already losing hope that there was anything they could do.

When Catarina arrived, she knelt down beside Magnus, taking Alec's wrist and feeling for a pulse. She paused momentarily, as if trying to assess the situation, then she finally spoke. "Magnus, darling. I don't think there's anything I can do for him."

It was then that Magnus became aware that his face was soaked with tears. It was then that he began to feel the pain in his chest. There was no way he could lose Alec. They were supposed to have decades left together. His heart skipped a beat as Alec's eyes fluttered open very softly.

"Magnus?" Alec's voice was very soft, very weak, and Magnus could very painfully tell that they didn't have much time left. He reached to swipe Alec's hair out of his eyes, silent tears continuing to steam down his face. "Magnus, I love you. I'm so sorry."

"Oh, Alexander. My Alexander." Magnus paused, trying to find the right words to say, trying to get it right, wondering which word would be the last thing Alec heard. "Don't be sorry for this. You saved my life, darling."

"I couldn't let her hurt you, Magnus." Alec tried to move and winced in pain. He grabbed for Magnus's hand, and when Magnus placed his hand in Alec's he could tell from Alec's grip that he was terribly weak, was on the brink of death.

"I'm fine now, love. Don't you worry about me anymore; you saved me." He paused, trying to catch his breath, but just when he was about to speaking again, Alec closed his eyes.

The last words Alec said were, "Happy anniversary, Magnus Lightwood." He was silent for several seconds before Magnus saw his chest stop falling and rising.

Magnus bent down to give his husband one last kiss, and it was then that he broke down into terrible, heart wrenching sobs. He could tell that Catarina was trying to say something to him, he knew that he should be listening to her, but he had no idea what she was saying. He wasn't aware of anything other than the fact that Alec was gone. He couldn't feel anything outside of the pain in his heart. It was the worst pain he had ever felt, and he knew it would never go away.

Without understanding exactly what he was doing, he got up and turned on Camille. He felt a release of magic, and suddenly Camille flew against the wall herself. She was smiling at him and all he could think of was riding the world of her smile once and for all.

"Give me one reason," he began, his voice surprisingly even. "One good reason, Camille, why I shouldn't kill you right this second." He raised his hand, ready to hurt her just as much as she had hurt Alec, but he suddenly felt a hand on his wrist.

Catarina took hold of his hand and gently forced him to lower it. "I'll give you a reason, Magnus. You're not a murderer, that's why. And Alec would not want you to do this." He turned to look at her with pleading eyes, but he knew she was right.

Turning back to Camille, he forced himself to look at her, even though it made him sick at his stomach to do so. "I'm not letting you go, Camille. I'm turning you over to the Clave. They can kill you for me."  
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Twenty years passed, and Magnus missed Alec more and more every day. The days never got any easier, despite everyone having told him that time would heal his wounds. Time only seemed to reopen his wounds.

One day, Magnus finally sat down with the Lightwoods as well as Raphael, Ragnor, Catarina, and Tessa and Jem. He knew they were all terribly confused as to why he had called them all together, but all the confusion would soon be cleared up. All of Magnus's pain would soon be cleared up as well.

"I know," he began. "That you're all trying to figure out what you're doing here. But I have an important announcement to make."

They all looked up at him with questioning looks, and it almost hurt him to have to tell him what he had planned. Almost.

"I wanted you all to know that I have thought about his more than any of you could ever know, and I've decided that I am going to take away my immortality. I am going to allow myself to age naturally and die." He held up a hand when he saw several of them start to interrupt. "I am terribly sorry, but I have already made up my mind. I am going to perform the spell tonight, and there is nothing that any of you could say to change my decision." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second.

When his eyes were closed, all he could see was Alec's face, and that was enough motivation to continue speaking. "I need to be with my Alexander again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking with me through this story! Let me know what you thought of it; I'd love to hear your opinions on it!


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